Suspect Stealing From Austin Tip Jars Sought

SOUTH AUSTIN, TEXAS — Getting caught with one's hands in the cookie jar is one thing, a largely victim-less crime hurting no one but the culprit and the appetite needed for dinner. Getting caught stealing tips from a business devoted to dishing out delicious ice cream is another thing altogether.

Surveillance security cameras recorded footage of an unidentified man at Amy's Ice Cream on Guadalupe Street with his hand in the tip jar of an establishment priding itself on hiring people from among the city's arts scene — artists, musicians and performers — as a way to help struggling artists make ends meet.

The tip jar to which the man is seen seemingly helping himself represents the daily customer gratuities that make up some 20 percent of workers' wages, the owners of the Amy's Ice Cream chain told CBS Austin.

“It makes me crazy because it’s so hard for our people to eke out out a living,” Amy's Ice Cream Steve Simmons told the news station. "We’re all struggling to pay rent and taxes and live in this great town, and to have someone take it away from you is kind of awful."

As bad as the incident is, it may not be isolated. Closer examination of the surveillance footage indicates the man matches the description of one who allegedly stole tip money from the Amy's Ice Cream on South Congress Avenue on Monday evening, according the the report.

And in Hyde Park, the general manager of Julio’s Mexican Restaurant, Frank Salinas, said around $25 is stolen from their tip jar situated next to the cash register once or twice a year, he told the news station. Next door at the Dolce Vida coffee shop next door, the tip jar has been violated as well, according the the report.

Amy's Ice Cream locations now have placed their tip jars further away from the front counters' edge so that anyone tempted to steal would have to reach further and thus enhancing the chances of getting caught. Officials at the chain also have circulated an surveillance camera image of the man at all its ice cream stores.

Reddit in Austin is circulating the photo as well. Click here to see that, but be warned of some rough language condemning the suspect as "this [expletive deleted] guy" in the headline.

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